The foundation of today’s Kobe port: 兵庫津宿(Hyogotsu inn town/castle town)

Probably many people have not heard about Hyogotsu inn town, except Kobe locals and Hyogo prefecture residents. Tsu means port, so Hyogotsu literally means “Port of Hyogo”. When you look at the map, you will soon know that Hyogotsu is very close to Kawasaki Heavy Industries shipyard and factories(Yes, the motorbike company!), and one of the most attractive tourist sites in Kobe city, Harbor Land. 


This is where Minatoguchi gate(Port side gate) used to be, which is the east end of the inn town. It’s by Minato-Hachiman shrine. This shrine has interesting signposts for lost children. 
In the old days, it was difficult to find your own lost children. So people created signposts, and write down children’s names and how they look, on a sheet of paper, and posted it on the s


Saigoku Kaido goes straight down south here. 
There are several temples including Fujinotera temple. According to Wikipedia, up until Meiji period(1868-1912), the temple used to have wisteria trees(Fuji). 









Now we are passing by former Okakata Soukaijo. During Edo period, Hyogotsu area was divided by three administrative districts, and Okakata was one of them. This place also used to be where merchants and business persons gathered and exchanged info. The current building was built in 1927 and is a national treasure. 
Saigoku Kaido route is taking a 90-degree curve here, as you see in other inn towns. 
Let’s take a few steps off from the route. This area is close to an old castle ruins, Hyogo castle ruins. The canal n front of us on the picture seems to have something to do with the castle moats, but this canal, Shinkawa canal, was constructed between 1874 and 1876. Apparently parts of the castle was destroyed in order to build the canal. 
Major part of Hyogo castle used to be located at the center of this map including the canal. But certainly Hyogotsu castle outer moats were the foundation of today’s canal. 
Hyogotsu museum is wheee the first Hyogo prefectural office was located. 
Passing by Nofukuji temple, established in 805 by a Buddhist monk Saichō. The giant buddha was built first in 1891 but removed and destroyed by the imperial government during WWII because Japan was desperate in gathering metals for weapons and armors. The current one was built in 1991. I did not include in this image but there used to be a tombstone of lord Kiyomori Taira(1118-1181) who established the first samurai-administrative government. 
Shinmei shrine is one of shrines of that the established era is unknown. 
The circle on top of the map is Fukukaiji temple, founded in 1344 by Takauji Ashikaga, the founder of Muromachi shogunate. Apparently the temple took the role of the guard at Yanagiwara-Soumon gate, which is the west end gate of Hyogotsu inn town. You see the gate area is attached to the temple on the map. I circled red on 西国街道柳原惣門跡(Saigoku Kaido Yanagiwara Soumon Ato). Another red circle at the bottom of the map is Yanagiwara-Hiruko shrine. It seems to be a really ancient shrine, but I could not find when it was established. 

The closest train station is subway Chuo-Ichibamae station, but JR Hyogo station is not far at all. 


References: 

Hyogo Canals in Wikipedia.(in Japanese: 兵庫運河　ウィキペディア) https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%B5%E5%BA%AB%E9%81%8B%E6%B2%B3 (Accessed in 5/14/2025)

 Hyogotsu Kitamaebune: Hyogotsu Nihon-Isan no Kai official website. https://hyogonotsu.com/guidemap/ (Accessed in 5/7/2025. English PDF map is available)

Hyogo Prefectural Hyogo-no-tsu museum official website. https://hyogo-no-tsu.jp/en/ (Accessed in 5/14/2025)

Nōfukuji temple. Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C5%8Dfuku-ji (Accessed in 5/14/2025)

Okakata Club. Hyogo-no-tsu Liaison Council in Japan. https://www.yomigaeru-hyogonotsu.com/about/okakata/ (Japanese only. Accessed in 5/14/2025)

Taira no Kiyomori. Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taira_no_Kiyomori (Accessed in 5/14/2025)

The Time of the Hyogo Port Prosperity(in Japanese: 兵庫津繁栄の時代). Kobe city. https://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/e90232/kuyakusho/hyogoku/shoukai/rekishi/history_5.html (Accessed in 5/14/2025. AI-generated translation is available) 

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